Deke Rivers

Im interested in picking these up after reading reviews on them but when I checked cd wow the covers looked different than the ones that were reviwed. Im assuming these are cheaper imports. Anyone know where one can find the proper versions cheap?

RonBoster

In general, what cdwow sells is the "proper" versions. Now you can buy the expensive premium boxes of of titles or the sometimes higher quality Japanese versions, but you will PAY for them.

I assume you are seeing the Old Boy Final Edition, which is a "proper" version. Run a search using old boy and you'll read about the different versions (which in most cases are not readily available or out of print). The first version had DTS, if I remember correctly, new ver. does not, but better PQ.

Sometimes you run into a HK version that leaves something to be desired, but that's not a rule of thumb (IME).

Ron

Trueno

The Oldboy on cd-wow is the new "proper" (as ron said) Korean Final Edition Release, there was a 2 Disc DTS version out but it’s not OOP as the FE replaced it.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance on cd-wow is the HK release, if you want the Korean "proper" Release (which is heaps better pic and sound wise) get it from http://www.dvdfromkorea.com/ its $19.99 and shipping should be under $5

There will also be a R2UK Oldboy 2 disc DVD to be Released in a few months time.

Deke Rivers

as far as the proper Korean release of Sympathy ..is it the one released by Tartan???

Deke Rivers

also is dvdfromkorea a reputable etailer? Got burned once for 30 bucks by a palce called dvdfromasia so i tend to shy away from places unless poeple can reccommned them

Trueno

Tartan Did do a release of it tho I have not heard that many good things about tartan DVDs and dont know anything about the quality of it.

The "proper" release in my mind would be the R3 Korean

Trueno

I myself have not ordered from them but I know of people who have (recently) and they had no problems at all with them.

Oh!!!
http://www.koreandvds.com/ have it and u can get 25% off your first order with them if u use this coupon thread0017583889 in the checkout.
Koreandvds also have oldboy FE but it’s still on pre-order if u wait until it’s released you can order both at once (as coupon can only be used on released DVDs)

I have ordered from KoreanDVDs many times and it’s been all good easily one of the best Asian DVD stores on the net

tali219

"dvdfromkorea.com" is a reputable seller. I just ordered from them and they shipped quickly and I was able to obtain a DVD from them that I could not find anywhere else.

Yakuza Bengoshi

Another satisfied dvdfromkorea customer here.

Deke Rivers

whats average shipping price from them? they are a couple bucks higher than
dvdfromkorea and with shipping even with 25 percent off it might comae out the same

ehonauer

The FE replaced the SE, but the SE contains the "director approved" transfer (which is OOP). Many complained that it was too blurry and hazy, but that's the way the director and cinematographer wanted it. The FE transfer does look better, but it depends how much of a stickler you are about staying true to the director's vision. As mentioned, the SE is the only one with a DTS track. Get both!

Tartan's first US release is going to be Oldboy, so there is an R1 version coming.

The official Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is from CJ Entertainment, and has the same cover shown in the DVD Talk review.



Avoid the HK release, as it's not in the right aspect ratio - 1:85 instead of 2:28. The Tartan release is good if you want subbed extras, but it is a PAL disc. If a PAL transfer bothers you, the best option is the Korean CJ Entertainment.

Deke Rivers

thanks all for the assistance and suggestions. Sometimes all the imports of one movie can get very confusing !

logboy

www.dvdcompare.net is uesful when venturing into multiregion, as is asking Qs on forums (usually). i suggest the korean "final edition" of oldboy (£12.99 at cd-wow.com : free worldwide shipping, works out about same as any korea based site like dvdfromkorea.com koreandvds.com ...) my "sympathy" is the HK which i read recently may be cropped. dont know how easy it is to find the korean disc as its OOP apparently...

RonBoster

I stand corrected on Sympathy. I didn't buy from cdwow on that one.

Ron

sofdec

Yeah there are a few versions of each (And when dealing with foreign movies, it can be a real hassle), Just look at the differences from 2 versions of House of Flying Daggers that came out at the same time:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCom...ingdaggers.htm

And likewise, there is also a comparison of Oldboy:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare7/oldboy.htm

which has 3 releases.
Two are pictured on the site (One being the Out of Print 2-disc set, the other being the new, $100+ "Ultimate Edition" (Which is limited to around 2500 but you MIGHT Be able to find one online if you hurry), finally, the "Final Edition" which is just coming out and is the first 2 discs of the Ultimate Edition (With quite a few extras removed).

Personally, if you cant get the Ultimate edition, I'd try to track down the original 2-disc set.

You just need to make sure it says "Region: 3" on them. Bootleggers are known to copy the exact artwork a lot of the time and re-sell it as region free.

Deke Rivers

the two korean websites both show it on thier site ..dont think its OOP yet

flixtime

Deke Rivers, the Korean release of "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" was recently re-issued so it is once again in plentiful supply (it had become somewhat difficult to find before the re-issue).

However, there is something you might wish to consider. There are a few instances during the film where there is some on-screen text (notes, computer monitor display, etc.) which isn't subtitled on either the original Korean DVD release or the Tartan U.K. release (don't know about HK but that one appears to be cropped so it's out of the running anyway). Also, I don't know if the re-issued Korean disc corrected the problem (there seems to be no mention in the DVDTalk review).

While you can certainly get the gist of things without knowing what the text says, I still feel that having the text un-subbed is a glaring oversight for this film. I recall reading that there is a new "Collector's Edition" of "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" being released by Tartan in Feb. or March of next year. If not in a hurry you might consider waiting to see if they sub the on-screen text this time around.

ehonauer

You said before "Sometimes you run into a HK version that leaves something to be desired, but that's not a rule of thumb (IME)." I agree that's true nowadays, but if it's a release that's more than a year old, the HK versions were usually substandard on some level - pan n scan, non-anamorphic, shoddy transfers, incorrectly flagged. The HK versions were good for checking out a movie at low cost instead of paying $20 - $30 for a Korean disc, or more for Japanese. Plus they were usually Region 0, which was good if you didn't have a region free player. Off hand I can think of a number of titles that weren't as good as the Korean: Christmas in August (non-anamorphic), Happy End (non-anamorphic), Barking Dogs Don't Bite (pan n scan).

I think Failan and Friend were the first HK discs that were on par with the Korean versions. It's more common now for HK discs to be of acceptable quality, but Sympathy came out on DVD when, mid 2003?

AFAIK the Korean Sympathy DVD from CJ Entertainment is not out of print, though it may be out of stock at some places. Korean discs tend to be pressed up in small batches, so they're often unavailable for a couple months while the manufacturer orders a repressing.

Deke Rivers

The Tarten UK one is cropped as well